Atlas: UFC Better At Making Fights Than Boxing

Whether as a trainer or an announcer, Teddy Atlas never felt the need to bite his tongue on an issue, especially when it comes to the integrity of the sport.

On his podcast this week, Atlas lamented the politics behind setting up some of the biggest fights in boxing, and feels that the sport needs to look at how the UFC does things to ensure “super fights” happen.

“You want [boxing] to change? I’ll tell you how it changes — make boxing the UFC,” Atlas said to his co-host. “Get Dana White — it’s not happening, but… he’s a dictator. You know what? Dictators usually are not good. But sometimes in some places they can be useful. With the UFC and the building of that product, the development, the building, the growing of that franchise — and boy did it grow — was because they had a dictator. Because the dictator could make all the rules.

“As I just pointed out, there were no separate power brokers in different areas that had their piece of property and their piece of property and we fight on our network, we fight on our network, and we do what we want to do. There was one place, one guy, laying the rules out. You fight him, or you’re out. You fight him, or you’re out. And you know what? That’s why he grew that sport. And that’s why he grew that product. Because he could demand competitive fights.”

“That’s what you’re asking for,” Atlas concluded. “You’re just asking for the best fights. That’s what the fans want. I’m just pointing out [that] he could do it because he was a dictator. And that’s it.